Apparatus for heating water



E.',H. STILL/ Arum-ms F63 HEATING, WATERw fmqefwan. 5; 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet i Aug. 11, 1925.

' 1,549,033 E. H. STILL APPARATUS FOR HEATING WATER- Filed Jan. 5, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 n Illllll 'rI/I/IIII /N V'E N TOIP lirralawsr Aug. 11, 1925.

E. H. STILL APPARATUS FOR HEATING WATER Filed Jan. 5, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Aug. 11, 1925.

UNITED STATES ERNEST HENRY STILL, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

. APPARATUS FOR HEATING WATER.

Application filed January 5, 1923. Serial No. 610,858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST HENRY STILL, a subject of the King or Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Hatton Garden, in the city of London, England, have invented Improvements in Apparatus for Heating Water, of which the following is a specification.

to the boiler through the float valve is controlled by a valve adapted to respond to variations in the intrinsic energy of the water in the boiler, thatis to say to open as the pressure or temperature in the boiler rises and close as the pressure or ten'iperature falls, the arrangement being such that, when the pressure or temperature in the boiler is considerably lowered, the valve will so restrict the admission of water through the iioat valve that the water will be quickly raised to the desired temperature, and there will beno interval during which boiling'or hot water cannot be obtained. Another object of the invention is to enable the supply of heating agent to be varied inversely to the water supply as an unusually large quan tity of water is being drawn ol'l', To this end the means controlling the heating agent is influenced mutually with the water controlling means. i

The heating agent may be gas, steamor electric current.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. .1 illustrates a gas heated boiler in which the admission of water to the boiler through a float valve is controlled by a valve adapted to be opened by the steam pressure against the action of a spring. Fig. 2 shows the valve in section.

Fig. 3 shows in section a water controlling valve adapted to be opened by a thermostatic device.

Fig. 4 shows in section a valve for controlboiler. 7

Fig.5 is a sectional view ofa part of Fig. 1 taken at right angles to the latter. 7

Fig. 6 is a viewsimilar to Fig. l of a shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to Fig. l-' the boiler a whichis ott',tubi ilar type, is mounted above gas burners Z); 0 is the gas supply connection and d the water supply connection, the .gas and water supplies being simultaneously turned on and off by a combination cock ate and the flow of gas to the burners being controlledfby'a valve at f actuated by a dia phragm subject tothe steam pressure in the boiler, the valve being free to open when the steam heated boiler making useof the valve ling the supply of steam to a steam heated boiler pressure falls and closing when it rises to the requiredextent, all as well'understood. The water supplyto the boiler passes from the duplex valve ate through pipesg to a float operated valve h at the bottom of a pipe 9 communicating through a cap 9 with the boiler a, but, according to the present invention avalve, such as is shown in section in Fig. 2,.is inserted at 2' to control'the supply "of Water to the float Valve. 72. is thefloat which actuates the valve it through a rod 773. The stem of this valve 2' extendsthrough a stufling box 7' into a chamber 75 containing a diaphragm Z to which the valve stem is attached; a spring m presses. against one. side of the diaphragm so as to draw the valve towards its seat and the opposite side of the diaphragm is eX- posed to thesteam pressure in the boiler, the chamber being connected thereto by the pi'pingn as shown in Fig. 1. The same piping a allows the steam pressure to act upon the gas control valve f. The cover of the. diaphragm chamber is is fitted, opposite the centre of the diaphragm, with a screw 0 so that the valve 21 may be opened against the action of the spring in when there is no pressure in the boiler and it is desired to admit water to it for washing out or otherwise; the outer end ofthe screw has fixed to it a milled head and its inner end is coned at 0 so that it will make a tight joint with a correspondingly coned seat in the cover when screwed back to permit movement of the diaphragm and valve.

In cases where the water in the boiler is never under pressure, the valve 2' may be actuated by a thermostatic device, such as an expansiblefluid-containing capsule, which may communicate with a closed tube extending into the water space of the boiler, act ng in opposition to a spring tending to close the valve, the condition of the thermostatic device depending on the temperature of the water in the boiler.

Fig. 3 illustrates a thermostatically actuated valve; ;0 is the expansible capsule .acting on the stem of the valve 2' in opposition to the spring m and held in place by the cover of the chamber is which is formed with branches k that are connected to the water space of the boiler at different levels. The cover of the chamber is formed with a dished thin metal wall [c soldered to the casting and the capsule p fits snugly into the dished wall as shown, by which arrangement risk of leakage is avoided. On the temperature of the water rising the capsule expands and opens the valve, Whilst on the temperature falling the capsule contracts and the spring closes the valve. As will be seen, instead .01 a screw for opening the valve 11 when there is no pressure in ,the boiler, a

by-pass g with a screw ris provided so that water may be allowed to pass to the boiler when desired.

In both arrangements, the valve 71 is rapidly adjusted toconditions in the boiler and hot water is always available in a short m IWhere steam is the heating agent it is sometimes desirable that the valve for its control should be inserted in the steam supply pipe somelittle distance away from the boiler and in that case the valve shown in Fig. 1 may advantageously replace the ordinary gas valve shown at f in Fig. 1.

In said Fig. 1, a valve 8 is employed fitted to a stem which passes through astufiing box a in a connector 4) adapted to be jointed by means of a washer a and bolts a? to a double flanged body piece w for inclusion in the steam supply piping and formed with a seating in to which access ,can ,bereadily gained when the connector 0; and body piece w are separated. The connector o aforesaid is adapted to be jointed to one wall of a flexible diaphragm pressure governor 1 of a type similar to that of Fig. 2 the valve stem being connected to the diaphragm and the valve adapted to be urged in a direction away from the valve seat bva conical spring in opposition to steam pressure in the boiler to which the chamber of the governorcasing, opposite that occupied by the spring, is connected by the piping n described with reference to Fig. 1. In Fig. 6, 2 represents the piping connecting the valve body w to a heating coil 1 in the boiler 64, 2 being piping connected to the outlet end of the coil.

The action of the regulating means is such that when the pressure in the boiler has reached a predetermined value the diaphragm operates to move the valve in closing direction, thereby throttling the supply of steam.

What I claim is v 1. In apparatus for heating water comprising a boiler, the combination with a float actuated water admission valve of a second valve controlling the supply of water through the float valve and means causing the second valve to open as the intrinsic energy of the water in the boiler rises and to close as the said energy falls, substantially as described.

2. In apparatus for heating water comprising a boiler, the combination with a float controlled water admission valve and a second valve controlling the supply of water 1 dium in accordance withthe intrinsic energy of the water in the boiler, substantially as described.

3. In apparatus for heatingwater comprising a boiler, the combination with a float controlled water admission valve and a second valvev controlling .the supply or water therethrough as specified in claim 1 of a third valve controlling the supply of heating medium and means adapted to automatically operate both the said second and third valves whereby the heating medium is varied inversely to the water supply as an unusually large quantity of the latter is being drawn ofii', substantiallyas described. a

t. In apparatus for heating water comprising va boiler, the combination with a float controlled water admission valve, and a second valve controlling the supply of water therethrough as specified in claim 1, of a third valve controlling the supply of heating medium, means adapted to produce opening movement of said second valve and means adapted to produce in the same way closing movement of the thirdvalve and vice versa, both said means being mutually influenced by steam pressure in the apparatus. Signed at American consulate general this 11th day of December, 1922.

ERNEST HENRY STILL. 

